Orange

My bridge has been slow and uneventful, but the Dutch are on fire in The Bermuda Bowl. The ladies ended their streak in the semis against France. And in an extremely tight match (semi-finals) the guys secured a win in the last session by bidding & making two slams missed by the Italians (“Eat Orange Dust!). Only USA 2 is standing between them and the title. For Vugraph schedule and bulletins: http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/Veldhoven.11/Veldhoven.htm

On the deal below I don’t know what happened. Maybe I got jedi-mind-tricked myself, or a sneeze blocked my train of thought, or a cow flew by, or the magnetic pull of an uninteresting side suit diverted my attention from the important one.

West

North

East

South

–

–

1

21

pass

4

a.p.

Intrepid

North

AK8

K986532

A5

4

South

Q76532

–

KT84

QT8

My LHO started with the Ace and a . Unthinkingly I pitched a from dummy (setting up my Queen) and that was the beginning of my downfall. I will not reveal what happens next, but my line of play mostly depended on trumps splitting 2-2.

Had I pitched a instead, this story would have been rosy and filled with chest beating pride. Instead I’m kicking myself for playing before thinking, wallowing in self pity and having fleeting dreams of a Bermuda Bowl far beyond my reach. I know it’s just a learning opportunity, but still …

Life gets so much easier if you discard the other red suit instead. You can ruff a low without too much fear of getting overruffed. Comfortable communication still intact, and virtually a cloudless sky to soar home through. You can count six in your hand, two , the Queen and a ruff in dummy.

East Dealer

All Vul

North

AK8

K986532

A5

4

West

J94

QJ7

J9762

A6

East

T

AT4

Q3

KJ97543

South

Q76532

–

KT84

QT8

Cheers!

On a side note: the comment section is fixed again after a permissions problem.

1 thought on “Orange”

Club return and you overruff the 4 with the 8 in dummy. 1 round of trump, A, K, ruff a D, ruff a heart, draw the last trump, and give up a diamond in the end.
Diamond return you win the A, cash 2 spades, K, ruff a D, ruff a heart, draw trumps.
Heart return you ruff, cash 2 spades, A, K, ruff a D, ruff a heart, draw trumps.
Spade return you win with the K, cash the A, then A, K, ruff a D, ruff a heart, draw trumps.